Adjustable furniture



(No Model.)

H R w I m B BM 0 BE .B n .S Gm D A No. 605,306. Patented June 7,1898.

7%; Qazm'ez azozr-wz.

NlTE

STATES ATENT Fr es.

ADJUSTABLE FURNITURE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 605,306, dated June 7, 1898. Application filed December as, 1396 seri l No. 616,963, (No model.)

To all whont it may concern: a Be it known that I, GABRIEL A. BoBfRIoI of Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachu setts, have invented an Improvement in Adjustable Furniture, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

Adjustable furniture, and particularly school seats and desks,.is now made in such manneras to bereadilyregulated to the size of the pupil, the desk or seat being mounted on two-part standards, one member of which is securely attached to the floor and the other, member to the articleof furniture. The two members of the standard have been made with their adjacent faces adapted to slide over each other in the direction of adjustment, a clamp on one member acting upon the portion of the other member between them to retain the standard in adjusted position, the intermediate memberbeing wedgeshaped and tapering downward. It has been found in practice that such construction is open to the objection that when the pupils knees are raised beneath a desk, as when crossing the legs, the upward pressure will tend to loosen the parts of the standards, no

matter how tightly clamped in the first place.

As the wedge tapers downward, the slightest loosening of the clamp in the manner described destroys the adjustment and the desk becomes loose and will rattle. One of the objects of my present invention is to obviate this objectionable feature, while retaining all the valuable features of the adjustable support or standard, and I attain such object by reversing the direction of taper of the wedge portion, preventing upward movement of the parts when adjusted, displacement in the opposite direction being prevented by inde pendent means.

Other features of my invention will be hereinafter described,and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1, in side elevation, represents a school-desk provided with standards embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is avertical sectional view on the line as a, Fig. 1, the desk being shown in elevation and broken oi'li, Fig. 3 1s an enlarged transverse section through the standard on the line 00 00, Fig. 1. Fig. 4: is an enlarged detail, partially in section, of a slightly-modified form of clamping and movable member; andFig. 5 is a detail show- 1 tion or head a, provided with a suitable opening for the clamping-bolt d. A lug or-shelf a? projects from the outer face of the head, beneath the bolt-opening, the bolt resting ,upon the shelf, as (clearly shown in Figs. 2

and 4, for a purposeto be described.

The fixed member a has lojngitudinal bear ing-surfaces a extended vertically orin the direction of adjustment, to support cooperating extended bearing-surfaces b on the adjacent face of the movable member I), which member is securely attached to the desk or other article insuitable manner. The llIlOV- able member I) is longitudinally slotted at b to receive the bolt d, and its outer face is inclined relatively to the bearing-surface 19 thus giving a wedge shape to the member, ta pering toward its upper end.

I have herein shown the wedge form as attained by ribs 6 one at each side of the slot 19 and of greatest height at the lower end, decreasing gradually therefroml to the upper end. The tops of the ribs are thus in a plane inclined to the vertical or to the bearings 15 The bolt cl (shown as headed) is extended through the head or part a of the fixed'member and through the slot 1) of [the movable member I) and finally throughja clamping member 0, which has upon its'inner faces grooves c to fit the ribs b and preferably correspondingly tapering, a nut. c on the bolt retaining the clamping member thereon and in engagement with the member 6.

One or more lugs c on the inner face of the clamp member extend into the slot 1), preventing displacement of the said, member when loosened and also serving to position it properly when tightened. By means of the lug or shelf a? the boilt'is always maintained in'properposition ,whether the clamp is tight or loose, and no attention has to be paid to the correct positioningof the bolt, so that the final tightening of the clamp cannot throw the standard out of de sired adjustment. 7,

From the taper of the wedge it will be seen that the greater the upward pressure put upon the desk or other article the tighter the clamp will hold, and the latter must be loosened to raise the desk.

To prevent depression of the desk or movement opposite the direction of taper of the wedge-shaped member, the member a is provided with a series of teeth a shown asadjacent one of the bearings a to be engaged by a toe or detent b on the movable member 12.

Preferably the tops of the teeth are substantially horizontal to afford a firm support for said detent toe and member, absolutely preventing depression of said member when clamped and also preventing the movable member from dropping when the clamp is loosened to adjust.

Obviously the ribs could be made on the clamping member to enter grooves in the movable member of the standard, such construction being a mere reversal of that herein shown.

The rib-and-groove construction prevents lateral relative movement of the members of the standard; but it will be obvious that the clamping member could be made to rest directly upon the inclined face of the movable member of the standard, if desired, thus omitting the ribs and grooves, as shown in Fig. 4. In "said figure the inclined face of the clamp member 0 rests directly upon the inclined face b of the movable longitudinally-slotted member 11 the construction otherwise being as heretofore described.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure cut, is

1. An adjustable support or standard for furniture, comprising a lower member adapted to be rigidly secured to the floor, a movable member adapted to be secured to the article of furniture and sliding on the fixed lower member, the adjacent faces of said members being parallel to the direction of adj ustment of the furniture, a clamping device between which and the member of the standard to which it is attached the other member is locked, said latter member being wedgeshaped, and means to prevent movement of the said member opposite to the direction of by Letters Pattaper of the wedge, substantially as described. I

2. An adjustable support or standard for furniture, comprising a lower member adapted to be rigidly secured to the floor, a movable member adapted to be secured to the article of furniture and sliding on the fixed lower member, the adjacent faces of said members being parallel to the direction of adjustment of the furniture, a clamping device between which and the member of, the standard to which it is attached the other member is locked, said latter member being wedge-shaped and having a toe or projection thereon, and a vertical series of teeth formed on the fixed member, engagement of the toe with a tooth preventing displacement of the movable member opposite to the direction of taper of its wedge, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

, GABRIEL A. 'BOBRICK.

Witnesses:

JOHN C. EDWARDS, AUGUSTA E. DEAN. 

